Crazy Rich Asians’ Awkwafina Quitting Twitter After People Hated On Her Accent in Her Films

By
Lin Jiawen
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Even if you haven’t watched Shang-Chi, you’ve probably watched or heard of Crazy Rich Asians.

And therefore, Awkwafina, who starred in both of these popular films.

But just as she was reaching the peak of her career, American actress and comedian Awkwafina, 33, announced her departure from social media site Twitter.

This announcement came after accusations of her using a “blaccent” and appropriating African-American culture in both her comedy and acting, which did not sit well with most audiences.

I mean, it’s 2022. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to infer that it wouldn’t.

And for those who have absolutely no idea what I’m talking about, a “blaccent” refers to when a non-black person imitates a stereotypical African-American accent, mostly to sound “cool” or be associated with the “ghetto” stereotypes that African-Americans are often linked with.

Awkwafina, whose real name is Nora Lum, posted this tweet on 6 February.

Currently, her Twitter bio reads, “UNTIL 2024 ALL ACTIVITY IS MONITORED BY MY (amazing) SOCIAL TEAM – HAPPY YEAR OF THE TIGER!”

Awkwafina’s Experience As an Immigrant

When addressing the attacks and criticism she received, Awkwafina drew on her own experience as a child of immigrants through a series of screenshots from her phone’s notepad app.

Just FYI, her mother is a Korean immigrant who moved to the United States in 1972, while her paternal great-grandfather was a Chinese immigrant.

This tweet marked the first time Awkwafina had posted on Twitter since 7 December 2019.

Er, so you technically haven’t “been on” Twitter and posting in the first place?

Anyway, she mentioned, “My immigrant background allowed me to carve an identity off the movies and TV shows I watched… I think as a group, Asian Americans are still trying to figure out what that journey means for them – what is correct and where they don’t belong.”

She also elaborated on the significance of marginalised groups being heard, stating that “to mock, belittle or to be unkind in any way at the expense of others is: Simply. Not. My. Nature. It never has, and never was.”

Lack Of Apology?

However, many netizens were quick to pounce on Awkwafina’s Twitter posts, noting that the actress simply did not apologise for her actions at all.


Additionally, it was also noted that she only liked the comments that supported her by saying that she had nothing to apologise for.

Er… well. I’ll leave it to you to judge that matter.

Of course, those tweets didn’t sit well with the others.

For example, many were angered at the Tweet above because Mac Lethal, an American rapper, isn’t black.

Which, technically means he probably shouldn’t be butting in, considering how Awkwafina’s “apology” wasn’t even for his community in the first place.

And this user summed the remainder of the comments section up pretty well:

Well, I’m not sure what her social media team is doing, but clearly, no one’s happy about it.

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Other Netizens’ Comments 

Apart from whether or not her posts were actual apologies, February is actually Black History Month, which really did nothing apart from damaging her reputation even further after her posts.

Many also defended their own culture, further chastising Awkwafina for her actions.

Others questioned why she chose to take on a community’s culture like that, especially when she herself had so much of her own culture that she could engage with.

There were also others who pointed out how unacceptable it would be if the roles were reversed.

 However, there were also users who tried to educate her (and basically her entire comment section) on the issue.

And hey, I watched the video and found it to be pretty informative and concise at the same time—so here you go. It’s a great crash course for those who don’t know much about this issue, and also offers a more personal perspective than what you might see in mainstream media.

(You’re welcome.)

And while we don’t know what’s going to happen when Awkwafina returns to Twitter in 2024, let’s hope it only involves good movies and nothing else.

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Lin Jiawen
Email: [email protected]